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"Damn it. Seaweed."
Feeling a heavy tug on the line, Leo pulled up his rod only to find a slimy, dark green clump of seaweed. To add insult to injury, after struggling to unhook the mess, he realized the bait was gone too. A total loss.
"Seaweed is fine, I guess," Leo muttered, trying to cope. "It's salty. If I dry it out, I can eat it like kelp chips. It should restore at least a little stamina."
He crumpled the soggy vegetation and tossed it into the chest he had placed on the pier earlier. He had come to the beach fully prepared, and 'preparation' in Stardew Valley specifically meant bringing a chest.
Beginners always forgot to bring a chest to the beach. They'd fill their pockets with fish, forage, and treasure, only to run out of space.
It was a miserable feeling—the greed of wanting everything but lacking the inventory slots. It was like doing a high-stakes loot run in a shooter game, finding rare items back-to-back, and seriously considering throwing away your primary weapon just to fit more loot in your backpack.
Veterans knew better. You always placed a 'junk chest' at your favorite fishing spots. Even trash like broken glasses, soggy newspapers, and driftwood could be recycled into useful resources later.
Leo baited the hook again and cast the line. While waiting, he pulled out his phone and opened the request posted by Yakumo Ran.
As the Master of this World, he could contact the commissioner directly. It functioned exactly like a merchant's backend interface; a single tap opened a chat window.
"Hello dear, are you there?"
He typed "dear" out of pure muscle memory. Leo only realized it after hitting send. It was a conditioned reflex from years of using customer service chat software at his old job.
Gensokyo. The Lost Village.
Yakumo Ran was busy tidying up the furniture that had been scattered during the Great Tengu's earlier rampage. Suddenly, one of the nine tails swaying behind her began to vibrate.
She spun around, rummaged through the fur, and pulled out the buzzing smartphone. She tapped the notification.
Hello dear, are you there?
"Dear?"
Ran tilted her head, her fox ears twitching in confusion. It seemed... overly intimate? Or perhaps just strangely casual for someone of his stature?
In Ran's eyes, this "Adult" held a status even higher than Lady Yukari. He was the Overseer of an entire dimension—practically a Dragon God of an alternate reality.
"Hello, I am here. Is there something you need?"
Ran trotted to the table and began the arduous task of typing. She used one finger, hunting and pecking at the screen. Forgive her for being an ancient youkai who had never touched a touchscreen before; Lady Yukari was even worse, currently relying entirely on voice-to-text.
Stardew Valley.
Leo stared at the "Typing..." bubble for what felt like an eternity.
Minutes passed. The suspense was killing him. Finally, a single sentence popped up.
"Okay, here's the deal," Leo muttered, typing rapidly.
Leo: I'm fishing right now. I've already caught one, and I expect to catch a few more. Leo: I need these to survive the next few days, so I can't give them to you to complete the commission yet. Leo: However, I can't finish a whole fish by myself. There's enough for a shared meal. Do you want to come over? Leo: [Image.jpg]
Leo snapped a photo of the Flounder and hit send.
Then, he went back to the waiting game.
"Typing..."
Minutes passed. The bubbles pulsed hypnotically.
Meanwhile, back at the Lost Village, Ran was analyzing the photo like a forensic scientist.
What a perfect fish! It looked a bit ugly, sure, but the body was plump and the flesh looked firm. It would taste divine. She wasn't sure why the Great One had placed a small seashell next to it—perhaps to emphasize the scale?
Based on the grain of the wooden planks beneath the fish, Ran calculated its true dimensions. A little over a pound. Not a giant, but certainly enough for a meal.
After a long struggle, she finally managed to send: [Thank you for the invitation.]
Ran stuffed the phone back into her tail and sprinted into the woods. She tackled the playing Chen, pinned down the bath-hating cat, and scrubbed her until she smelled like flowers. She dressed Chen in clean, formal clothes and then contacted Yakumo Yukari, who was currently hiding from a very angry Tengu.
Leo: No problem. Remember to bring your own cookware. pots, pans, spices, etc. I have nothing.
Leo sent the final message. According to his old customer service training, the merchant must always have the last word to protect the 'Response Rate' metrics.
Fishing without stamina was a gamble. The first fish had bitten almost immediately, but the subsequent ones took so long Leo nearly dozed off.
By 5:00 PM, he still had two portions of bait left, but he decided to call it quits. He didn't have a Glow Ring, and walking through the pitch-black forest was asking for a broken ankle.
"Four fish. Not a bad haul."
They weren't monsters, but they were meat.
When Leo returned to the farm, he found a surprising sight.
Chen (the Orange Cat) was squatting by the field, staring intensely at the sprouting Parsnips. Standing nearby was Yakumo Ran, dressed in her full sacramental robes, with a stack of pots and cooking utensils at her feet.
They looked... formal. This wasn't the casual "nightgown" vibe Yukari usually projected.
"Where is Miss Yukari?" Leo asked, looking around. "Did she not come?"
He knew the Yakumo family came as a set. Seeing Yukari missing was like seeing a sandwich without bread.
"Apologies," Ran said, her face twitching slightly as if she were suppressing a laugh. "Lady Yukari is currently... tied up with some diplomatic matters. She cannot attend. Only Chen and I have come to the feast."
Ran took the three fish Leo offered her and immediately began prepping them with expert precision.
Gensokyo. Youkai Mountain (or rather, just outside the Lost Village).
If there was a medicine for regret, Yakumo Yukari would have overdosed on it by now. She swore she should have sent Reimu to steal the seeds alone.
These Tengu were annoying! Since they couldn't beat Reimu, they had come to harass a delicate, defenseless woman like her.
"Let go of me!"
"I won't! If you have the guts to steal, have the guts not to run!"
Megumu Iizunamaru, the Great Tengu and Chief of Youkai Mountain, had Yukari's arm in a vice grip.
Heaven be her witness, Megumu had been at home, ready to enjoy a treasured strawberry. She had saved it for a whole year—one of the few tribute fruits she received. She had just raised her knife to slice it when Reimu kicked down her door.
One bandit searched for seeds. The other bandit (Reimu) pinned her to the floor, threw the strawberry into her own mouth, and then complained that it wasn't fresh!
It was humiliating! If Megumu could beat Reimu, she would have burned the Shrine down by now. But she couldn't. So, she was taking it out on the accomplice: Yakumo Yukari.
"I'm begging you, please let go~~"
Yukari's tone suddenly turned soft and pathetic. Ran had just texted her. The fish was ready.
She really wanted to go. But this winged 'dog-skin plaster' was stuck to her arm, making a stealthy exit impossible.
There are only a few fish, Yukari reasoned internally. If I bring Megumu along, there won't be enough meat for me. Furthermore, food production has just begun. If I bring one guest now, everyone will expect an invite.
It is not scarcity that destroys a society, but inequality.
Therefore, Yukari decided righteously, I, the Sage of Youkai, must bear the burden of this 'scarcity' alone. I will sacrifice myself to eat the fish in secret, so as not to affect the unity of Gensokyo.
PLS SUPPORT ME AND THROW POWERSTONES .